I will be posting book reviews that I've written. I mostly read Christian Fiction. I do read Historical Fiction as well. All books I read and review are clean.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Hearts Made Whole (Beacons of Hope #2) by Jody Hedlund

Title: Hearts Made Whole (Beacons of Hope #2)

Author: Jody Hedlund

Pages: 379

Year: 2015

Genre: Historical (1865)

Publisher: Bethany House Publishers

Format: Paperback

Note: I received a free copy of this book through The Book
Club Network in exchange for my honest opinion.

About the book:

1865 Windmill
Point, Michigan

Can she forgive
the hurting man who costs her the role she loves?

After her father’s
death, Caroline Taylor has grown confident running the Windmill Point
Lighthouse. But in 1865 Michigan, women aren’t supposed to have such roles, so
it’s only a matter of time before the lighthouse inspector appoints a new
keeper – even though Caroline has nowhere else to go and no other job available
to her.

Ryan Chambers is
a Civil War veteran still haunted by the horrors of battle. He’s secured the
position of lighthouse keeper mostly for the isolation – the chance to hide
from his past is appealing. He’s not expecting the current keeper to be a
feisty and beautiful woman who’s angry with him for taking her job and for his
inability to properly run the light. When his failings endanger others, he and
Caroline realize he’s in no shape to run the lighthouse, but he’s unwilling to
let anyone close enough to help. Caroline feels drawn to this wounded soul, but
with both of them relying on that single position, can they look past their
loss to a future filled with hope . . . and possibly love?

My review:

This is a
fantastic historical novel!

This book can be
read as a stand-alone story even though it is the second book in the series.
There are a couple of brief references to characters in the first book but that
is all.

I absolutely
loved both Caroline Taylor and Ryan Chambers. They both have enormous
difficulties to deal with when they first meet. They each have a different way
that they are approaching those problems though.

Caroline believes
in God yet she is so burdened with her responsibilities that she doesn’t really
know how to trust Him to take care of her and her siblings. The heartache and
uncertainty that she has faced already in her life caused me to just want to
reach out and give her a hug and encourage her that she could get through the
new problems facing her.

Ryan has been
wounded both physically and emotionally by the atrocities of the Civil War.
These wounds have left him doubting God and his own worthiness as a man. His
physical wounds were immediately described. As the story progressed we are then
gradually told about the emotional burden that he is carrying.

As trouble mounts
and dangerous situations are faced they both need to learn how to turn to God
for His help and strength. The steps that are taken by each of them were very
clearly written and thought provoking.

I
thoroughly enjoyed this visit to 1865 Michigan and am highly recommending it.
It gets a 5 star rating from me.

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About Me

I am in my late 50s. My husband Ted and I have been married for 38 years now. We met while we were both stationed at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska. My husband stayed in the service for almost 21 years and retired as a Master Sergeant. I was able to get out when I was pregnant with our first daughter so that I could stay home with her. We have 5 grown children. Our current count on grand children is 9.